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Bethel Quarry

Rear of 18 Frome Road, Bradford on Avon.

At approximately four hectares in area, Bethel Quarry was the largest of the stone quarries in Bradford on Avon. There is a single adit entrance to the rear of Bethel House, the old site office for the quarry at 18 Frome Road. This is off a

private road with no public right of way.

Please note the residents of Bethel House have nothing to do with the quarry. Please do not disturb the residents by trying to enter the mine.

Alternate Names: Bethel Limestone Quarry, Bethell Quarry

Notes: The age of the quarry is unknown. One source has it named after its owner, George Bethell, who built Abbey House, Church Street from the stone in about 1775. However, Bethel Quarry is not shown on an 1841 map of Bradford on Avon but was known to have been extensively worked in the second half of the nineteenth century. The Bradford on Avon Gazetteer of 1868 shows it under the ownership of by the Rogers family and later worked by the Jones family until about 1910. The 1886 gazetteer records Isaac Jones as living adjacent tot he quarry at 19 Frome road, with his occupation as Quarrymaster & Lime Manufacturer. The Agaric mushroom growing company then bought it. The quarry was requisitioned in 1939, by the War Department and used for the storage of naval optical equipment after some strengthening and reinforcing work.

After the second world war, it was used initially by the Heinz company to grow mushrooms for soup and later by Oakfield Farm Products, also for mushroom production. This finished in September 2010 and the quarry was offered for sale in April 2011. The Estate Agent details noted its as potential for underground storage and described it as a "large and historic stone quarry extending to very approximately 10 acres with mains power, water and sewerage connected. The quarry ceased to be mined for stone at the end of the 19th Century but was latterly been used for the farming of mushrooms, though for some months has been disused."

An interesting short video from 1963 of mushroom growing in the quarry is available on the Pathe News website.

In 2018 two Albanians were arrested and charges with the illegal growing of cannabis in the quarry. Various newspapers reported that the cannabis had a street value of £1.5 million. The quarry was inaccurately referred to as Cannabis Cave and a mine as well as a quarry. The quarry was closed by the police in 2018.

There are also four existing air shafts into the main quarry but the date of their construction is unknown.

The quarry was incorrectly located by Price (1984) as ST 8265 5997.